Race against the Clock
by Whisper In the Wind89
Summary: Sequel to Deadly Decision. While fighting a hollow, Rukia gets poisoned. Now Ichigo must travel great distances to find the antidote. But, in order for him to do that, he must confront an enemy he never thought he would see again...
1. Chapter 1 Rest and Relaxation

'_It's been a year now.'_

"_Hey Ichigo!"_

"_Rukia!"_

"_I Love you."_

"_I love you too!"_

Ichigo lied upon the roof of his house. He held the object of his desire in his arms. Rukia was resting on his chest. She lightly snored. The sun shone brightly. The day was perfect. Ichigo stared up at the clouds as they passed by.

'Two years have passed since that day.' He thought to himself. The memories of his battle with his hollow were still fresh in his mind. How could he forget such a day? That was the day before Rukia revealed to him that she really did have feelings for him. She just didn't want to tell him because she was scared that their relationship would become strange.

But that was all in the past. This is the present; the here and now. Here he held Rukia in his arms. Now they are together. Everything is right-

His thoughts were interrupted by Rukia's rustling. He looked down from the clouds at her raven colored hair. She lifted her head and looked up at him. He smiled down at her as he lightly ruffled her hair. She sat up and stretched her arms as she let out a quiet yawn. Ichigo went back to staring at the clouds. After Rukia sat there looking at her surroundings, she lay back down on Ichigo's chest. He placed his arm around her once more.

"It's such a nice day to be lazy." She said. Ichigo smiled as he wrapped his arm around her and held her closer. Just then an explosion echoed throughout the town. Ichigo and Rukia both sat up and looked towards the direction of the sound.

"God damn it." Ichigo stated, slightly irritated. Rukia chuckled as she transformed into her shinigami form. Ichigo stood up and used the badge to turn into his shinigami form. Then he went into his room and quickly grabbed Kon who was sleeping on his bed. He reached in the stuffed doll and grabbed the soul mod pill and placed it in his limp human body.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood." Ichigo said. "I'll let you run around while we deal with this Hollow." Kon-Ichigo jumped up and down before Ichigo hit him upside the head.

"Don't do anything stupid or else I'm going to take that pill and destroy it." Ichigo glared at him. Kon-Ichigo nodded his head saying he understood. He became less and less of a pervert as time went on. When he first heard that Rukia and Ichigo got together he grew irate. But, as time went on he got used to the idea and decided to give up his act and change. Now he is less of a loud mouth, though he does get loud at times.

Ichigo and Rukia jumped from roof to roof.

"First one there gets the honors!" Ichigo shouted. Rukia looked back at him and smiled. She let out an attack towards Ichigo. He quickly jumped out of the way and high into the air.

"What was that for!?" He yelled.

"Nothing!" She laughed. Then she sped up faster towards the hollow. Ichigo grinned as he figured out what happened. When he reached the roof he yelled, "Bankai!" Then he transformed and watched as Rukia slowly disappeared. Then in that same second, he caught up with Rukia. She turned as was surprised to see him keeping up with her.

"Cheater!" She shouted. Ichigo was a bit taken back by this.

"Now wait a minute. You hit me with an attack and you call me a cheater!?" Rukia had an evil grin on her face as she sped up again to pull away from Ichigo, but it was no use. Just as they were about to reach the city Rukia performed her ice attack, which caught Ichigo off guard. He barely avoided it, yelling at Rukia. She smiled as she disappeared and arrived at the hollow first.

Ichigo appeared right behind her after she landed on the ground. She turned around and smiled at him as she jumped into the air to strike the hollow. And just like that it was over. The hollow roared as it dropped to the ground, slowly fading away.

"That was mine." Ichigo pouted. Rukia smiled at him as she started to walk away.

"Tough break rookie. Maybe when you're as experienced as I am you'll get here quicker." She said. Ichigo clenched his fist tightly with a grin on his face. Rukia turned around and noticed that the hollow was staring right at them. Then it let out an attack headed right towards them.

"Ichigo look out!!!"

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Alright I need a little help here guys. I have two storylines that I could use here and I need your help in choosing. The two are:

Rukia gets hit by the poison and Ichigo has to travel across both Earth and Soul Society in search of the antidote for the poison. When he arrives at the place where the plant is, he must call upon someone whom he thought he defeated long ago.

or

Ichigo gets hit by the poison and Rukia must go in search of the antidote in order to save the one she loves. As she journey's she'll start to question things about her life, like the relationships she has with certain people.

Choose between the two. I'll more than likely choose the majority of the vote unless you give good reasons why you want the certain storyline.

Also I'll be introducing maybe 2-3 of my own characters. They'll show up pretty late in the story. (latter half of it).

So Read and Review cause the story can't go on without you guys.


	2. Chapter 2 Poison

Alright well the count was 4 to 3. the storyline of Ichigo going to search for the cure won got the 4 votes. To clear up things about the Rukia storyline: In the first story I wrote a part about how she would hook up with the strongest shinigami. I was going to incorporate that into this story. I was going to have Rukia take the journey to get the cure, and while she is searching, she runs into a shinigami she knows. Then as they travel together, the other shinigami starts to ask her if she really has feelings for Ichigo or not. She is reluctant to answer, because she herself does not know if she got with Ichigo because of that or cause she really did love him.

So anywayz. On to the story.

----

"_Ichigo look out!"_

Ichigo kneeled on the ground. His eyes widened with fear. He quickly focused his attention on the fading hollow and struck it with such great force, the street beneath it split where his sword landed. He stood there and waited for the hollow to disappear completely, and then he quickly ran back to the injured Rukia. He kneeled down next to her body and ripped off some of his clothing so he could wrap it around Rukia's left arm, where the needles struck her.

"Idiot. Why did you do that!?" Ichigo yelled. Rukia smiled at him as she held onto her arm. He looked down at her arm. Her blood thoroughly soaked her clothes. He held her in his arms as he tried to stop the blood from flowing.

"Stop bleeding!!!" Ichigo had a bewildered expression on his face. Rukia was struggling to move her body. The injury was much worse than it had appeared to be. Ichigo had no idea why until Rukia spoke.

"Ic…chi..go… It..s… poi…son" Poison. The words struck him hard. Ichigo froze up. He didn't know how to react. He began to shake his head repeating over and over again "No… no…" Just then Kon-Ichigo came running out of nowhere.

"Ichigo! What happened?" He yelled as he ran up to them. "Rukia-san! Quick! We need to get her to Urahara's shop." Kon-Ichigo said. Ichigo looked up at him. He had that facial expression that showed he felt weak in this situation. Kon-Ichigo quickly picked up Rukia and began to carry her on his back to Urahara's shop. Ichigo stood there watching as Kon jumped from building to building. 'Poison…'

When they arrived at Urahara's shop, Kon quickly ran inside. Urahara could see he was worried about something as Ichigo landed outside of their store. He quickly led Kon-Ichigo into one of the rooms. Ichigo slowly walked into the store. He had a distant look in his eyes. He couldn't get that word out of his head. 'Poison…'

Kon-Ichigo quickly, yet gently laid Rukia down on the mat. Urahara took a long look at her injury before he started to tend to it. He went into the other room and came back with a bag of medical equipment. He began to inspect Rukia's gash in her arm. Ichigo stood outside of the store staring up at the sky.

"This isn't good." He said. "It Tsu-getsi Poison." Everyone loudly gasped.

"Wait." Kon-Ichigo said. "What's so bad about that?" Urahara turned around and glared at him. His eyes were on fire. "I was going to get to that before I was rudely interrupted." Kon-Ichigo took a step back, feeling weak in the knees.

"Now, as I was saying, Tsu-getsi poison is one of the worse types of poison because the antidote is an herb that is only found in soul society."

"So… we can just go to soul society and go look for it."

"Baka!" Urahara hit Kon-Ichigo upside the head.

"It's a very rare herb I'm afraid. It's found only in one place. It's surrounded by a very strong force field. There's no way we can get in." Urahara's eyes were covered by his hat. Kon had a worried look on his face. He looked over at Rukia who laid there helpless.

"So there's no way to get that herb?" Kon-Ichigo asked. Urahara sat there for a moment before he coughed

"It's nearly impossible to get to it." He simply said. Kon lowered his head as he walked out of the room.

"Kon." He stopped in his tracks and turned around. Urahara threw a map at him. He told him to give it to Ichigo so that he could find the way. He went outside and found Ichigo standing there still looking up at the sky. He walked over to Ichigo and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ichigo didn't move. His eyes never left the clouds.

"Ichigo…" Kon said. He tried to think of words to comfort him, but nothing came to him.

"Ichigo. I wish I knew what you are feeling right now, but being a mod-soul, I wasn't raised to have feelings for other beings. But, Urahara said that there might be a way to save Rukia." For the first time Ichigo took his eyes away from the skies and looked at Kon-Ichigo.

"He told us that it's a rare poison, and that there is a cure. The only problem is that there is a force field surrounding it and it will be impossible to break through."

"Bullshit. Nothing is impossible." Ichigo said abruptly. Kon knew that he would say that so he figured it was no use in fighting back. He reached into pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper.

"Here." Kon stated. "It's a map that leads to the herb. Hurry up and get it before Rukia dies. Urahara said he would stay and take care of her. I'll stay here and keep a watch over her." Ichigo nodded as a sign of thanks as he ran into the store to find Urahara. When he did, Urahara used Benihime to open up the portal to Soul Society, and Ichigo jumped in.

When he arrived in Soul Society, he took out the map and began to read it. When he got a sense of where he was, he started out on his journey. _'I'll get that antidote, Rukia. Just hold on. I won't let you die.'_


	3. Chapter 3 Trip Back in Time

Urahara and Kon sat by Rukia's side the whole time Ichigo was gone. Kon watched as Urahara would check on Rukia's condition every now and then.

"How long does the poison take?" Kon asked, breaking the silence. Urahara thought about it for a moment before he answered.

"The poison is pretty strong, but it takes a long time to work. The poison takes about four days to get to the heart. Then it takes over the heart and multiplies itself inside of the heart. It kills all the blood cells and makes the heart pump the poison into the person's bloodstream instead of blood. This all happens though at the 5th or 6th day. So by the 7th or 8th day…" Kon understood what he meant to say afterwards.

"Hurry Ichigo…"

Ichigo ran though the dense forests of Soul Society. Every now and then he stopped to look at the map to see if he was going to right way. Luckily for him, Urahara made a magical pointer that showed Ichigo, on the map, where he was and where the forest that held the herb.

He still had a long ways to go. The pointer estimated that he had two more days of travel. Ichigo quickly tucked the map into his clothes and continued his journey. He had been traveling for one whole day non-stop. Determination and his love for Rukia kept him going without rest. Though midway through his second day of his never ending travel, the effects of fatigue were evident.

His pace slowed down from running at full speed to a jog. He no longer held his sword behind his back, but dragged it on the ground, which slowed him down even more. Sweat poured down his face like a waterfall, dripping off his chin to the dirt ground below him. Suddenly it became too much for him. Ichigo tripped over himself and began to roll on the ground until he rolled onto a tree.

His sword lay next to him as he breathed really hard. His head was spinning like the funnel cloud of a tornado. He tried not to move because his body was very exhausted. His vision grew blurry just as someone made their way towards him. By the time they stood over him, he passed out from exhaustion. The man stood there for a moment before he reached down and slung Ichigo over his shoulder, carrying Zangetsu in his other hand.

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes. The sunshine peeked through the windows of the room. He slowly got out of bed. He looked around the room. Zangetsu was sitting on a long table on the other side of the room. The room itself was fairly simple. It had a bed, a table, and chair. The door out of the room was next to the table. Ichigo made his way to his zanpakuto. As he took a step towards Zangetsu, his legs gave up and he fell to the ground in a loud crash.

The door opened slowly as Ichigo struggled to stand up.

"You really shouldn't move around too much. You lost a lot of strength." The man said. Ichigo looked up to see who spoke to him. The man stood there holding a half eaten apple in his hand. He wore a traditional schoolboy's outfit and a pair of sunglasses on. The hilt of a sword hung from his waist. He was carrying a tray that had food and a glass of water.

"Here, eat." He picked up Zangetsu and placed it next to the table and set down the tray on the table. He walked over and helped Ichigo up. He surprised Ichigo with his remarkable strength as he picked him up with one hand as though he was a sack of feathers. He carried him over to the table and set him on the chair. Ichigo grabbed the chopsticks and began to eat the bowls of rice set in front of him. The man stood there happily watching Ichigo eat the food he prepared.

After he finished with his meal, Ichigo quickly gulped down the water and let out a relieving sigh. He stood up, seemingly rejuvenated. He began to walk around the room and stretched his legs and arms.

"Wait a minute. I didn't catch your name. What is it?" Ichigo asked suddenly realizing how rude he seemed.

"Arukasa." He simply said with a smile on his face.

"Well. Arukasa thanks for the food. Sorry for running off so quickly, but I have to go." Ichigo said as he reached out for Zangetsu.

"It's OK. I know where you're heading. You're looking for the Harakasashi Plant. It's located in the forest called Yutaremai Forest. The forest is covered with the plant. The only problem is getting out of Yutaremai Forest alive."

"All I have to do is break through the barrier, get in, and get out." Ichigo said with a clenched fist in the air.

"What do you mean barrier?" Arukasa said. "There is no barrier around Yutaremai Forest."

"There isn't?" Ichigo asked. Arukasa nodded as he picked up the tray. "Then why did Urahara tell us that?" Ichigo said more to himself than to Arukasa.

"I would not know why he told you that, but the real reason I said it would be difficult to get out is because of what lives in the forest. Long ago the Gotei 13 made a mod-soul that was so strong, it broke out of its capsule and began the onslaught of killing any and every shinigami it saw. One day they were able to trap the mod-soul, but they could not kill it. So every captain and vice-captain of each division gave up their lives and channeled all of their power into the first division captain's body and he gave up his life to trap it inside of Yutaremai Forest."

Ichigo was awe inspired by the story. "You know who that person was?" Arukasa asked.

"His name was Kurosaki Irefuka. You're ancestor, Kurosaki Ichigo. You know why he gave up his life? The Mod-Soul made a deal with the Espadas of Hueco Mundo. He promised to kill Kurosaki Irefuka's lover in return of granting him power like never before. So he sent a hollow to earth to attack his lover, but Irefuka was able to stop the hollow. But before the hollow disappeared, he shot out poison needles and struck Irefuka's lover. The poison is called Tsu-getsi Poison. It takes about a week before it starts to slowly kill your body." Ichigo was surprised with the story. What was happening to him is the same as what happened in the past.

"What happened to Irefuka's lover?" Ichigo asked. Arukasa looked him straight in the eyes. "She died." Ichigo's eyes widened with great fear.

"She killed herself. One of the shinigamis was great friends with both Irefuka and his lover. Before Irefuka went to battle, he gave him the Harakasashi Plant to take back to his lover and cure her. When she was cured and able to move on her own, she heard the news that Irefuka died. She gave her son to the friend and then killed herself. She couldn't live without Irefuka." Ichigo looked away, out the window, with a distant look on his face.

"Let me clean up these dishes then we'll head out. Ok?" Ichigo nodded as Arukasa walked out of the room and quickly cleaned and put away the dishes. Then they headed towards Yutaremai forest. They traveled quickly trying to make it there as fast as they could.

"Hey Arukasa. How do you know all this?" Ichigo said as they ran.

"I haven't been entirely truthful with you. I am Kuchiki Arukasa. The ancestor of Rukia and Byakuya." Ichigo eyes widened with amazement. "I have been keeping track of everything that has happened over the years. I have watched and recorded everything. Every Gotei 13 change, I have recorded them all." Ichigo and Arukasa ran drawing nearer and nearer to Yutaremai Forest. And in that forest, deep in it the heart of it, the mod-soul waited.


	4. Chapter 4 Yutaremai Forest

It took the two another day before they reached Yutaremai Forest. Suddenly they could sense a strong Reiatsu deep within the forest.

"We have to be careful. The plant is deep in the forest."

"I don't care." Ichigo said. "Rukia doesn't have time."

"Wait. This Reiatsu… It's too strong, even for both of us. I know you can sense that." Arukasa said. "We have to think of plan or else we're both going to get killed." Ichigo stood there not listening to him. He had only one thing on his mind and that was getting the plant.

"Ichigo listen to me. I know how much Rukia means to you, but if you go and get yourself killed then Rukia will die too." That statement must have gotten to Ichigo because he turned to look at him. Arukasa saw the pain in his eyes. He must have known what Ichigo was feeling because he had a sympathetic look for him.

"Bankai." Ichigo yelled. His outfit and Zanpakuto changed. He took one long look into the forest before he charged in. His Zanpakuto was drawn and ready to go. He ran deeper and deeper into the forest. Arukasa watched on as he sensed Ichigo grew nearer and nearer to the mod-soul.

'Wow! His Reiatsu is tremendous. I've never felt something so strong up close.' Arukasa thought to himself. 'I wish it were enough…' Ichigo, now running full force, almost reached the hollow. Just then a spike came hurling at Ichigo. He quickly moved to the side, but did not see the other one that pierced his side. He fell down onto one knee as blood started to pour out of his body.

Suddenly a dark figure emerged from the heart of the forest. Ichigo looked up and watched as he held onto his side, trying to keep pressure on it so the bleeding would stop.

"I smell Kurosaki blood." It said. "I will rip your body to shreds!" Just then another spike hurled its way towards Ichigo. Ichigo dodged that one and the other after it, but did not expect to see a third one coming at him. It hit him in his left shoulder. He fell backwards screaming in pain.

"I will kill you Kurosaki." Ichigo tried to get up, but the pain was too great. He fell to the ground once again screaming. The spikes themselves had the Tsu-getsi poison on their tips. But, the poison was stronger and worked slightly faster than what Rukia was injected with. "Now Kurosaki. Now you die!" Ichigo didn't see anyone but a dark figure that stood in front of him. The shadow hoisted an axe high in the air. Ichigo watched in horror as the axe came hurling down at him.

Just then Arukasa appeared out of nowhere and blocked the axe attack. He attacked the figure and was able to land a hit. The shadow fell backwards roaring in pain. Just then Arukasa turned around and grabbed Ichigo. Then they disappeared and reappeared on the outskirts of Yutaremai Forest.

Arukasa dropped Ichigo on the ground. Ichigo sat there holding onto his left arm. The pain surged throughout his body. Arukasa kneeled down and quickly bandaged up Ichigo's injuries.

"I figured you weren't not strong enough, even in Bankai form, to stop that mod-soul." Arukasa said as he finished up bandaging Ichigo's side. "Then how do you suppose we stop it then?" Ichigo yelled. Frustration began to sink as Ichigo struggled to get to his feet. When he got to a vertical base, his legs collapsed under him and he grabbed for his left shoulder.

"You were poisoned, weren't you?" Arukasa asked. Ichigo grunted in pain as he slowly nodded his head.

"You didn't answer my question." Ichigo said through each strain of pain.  
"How do you suppose we stop this mod-soul?" Arukasa put Ichigo on his shoulders and helped him stand up.

"We need you to call upon the help of the hollow inside of you." Ichigo's eyes widened.

"My… hollow?" He stammered. Arukasa gave him a simple nod. "That's impossible I killed him two years ago." Ichigo groaned.

"Wrong." Arukasa simply said. "You killed what you thought was your hollow. He's been inside of you all along. He has just been dormant all this time."

Ichigo's eyes grew bigger in shock as he stared at Arukasa with disbelief.

"Dormant…"


	5. Chapter 5 Hollow Ichigo's Decision

Ichigo sat staring blankly at the ground. He let the words of Arukasa sink into his brain.

'I thought I killed him.' Ichigo wondered. The memories from two years ago came back to him. Running away from Rukia, plunging into soul society, fighting his hollow, everything came back to him as though it happened only yesterday.

"Are you sure there is no other way to stop the mod-soul?" Ichigo asked. Arukasa looked away.

"I'm absolutely sure." He said. He, too, recalls what happened two years ago. He observed the fight from afar and watched as Isshin, Urahara, and even Byakuya went down one by one. Then he saw Ichigo appear and take down the hollow.

"But how is he still within me when he was able to escape from within me?" Ichigo asked.

"I was there when he separated from you. I was going to kill him before he caused any trouble. But as he came out, I noticed he put a small spherical object into your body. When I went to attack him, he caught me off-guard and knocked me out. When I came too, I noticed you were still knocked out. I was able to get you to regain consciousness, but I left because I wanted to know what it was he put in there. So I went back to my house and did research. I came across a book that said normally when hollows separate themselves from their counterpart; they place a form of capsule inside the host so that if they were to die, they would be reborn once again inside of their human counterpart.

"_He's very smart."_ Ichigo eyes widened as he placed a hand on his face.

"Ichigo? What's wrong?" Arukasa asked.

'Damn it.' Ichigo said to himself.

"_What's wrong Ichigo? You make it sound like you don't like me. Come on. I thought we were the best of friends." H. Ichigo began to laugh uncontrollably._

"It's your hollow isn't it?" Arukasa said. Ichigo looked up at him with a scared look in his eyes. "Ichigo… You know what you must do."

Ichigo's hand began to tremble.

"_Sure. I'll take over your body to stop the mod-soul. But I won't stop there." H. Ichigo began to chuckle._

"_I might even go to the real world and see all your friends, especially Rukia." _Ichigo grew more worried than ever before. H. Ichigo's Reiatsu was stronger than before. He didn't know if he would be able to control him and keep him from taking over.

"_Let me ask you something Ichigo. While I was gone, did you do anything to Rukia?"_

'What are you talking about?' He asked.

"_You know what I mean. Did you show her your wild side?" _H. Ichigo began to laugh as Ichigo groaned.

'Shut up!' He mentally yelled. H. Ichigo took great pleasure in the pain he was causing him.

Arukasa looked on as he sensed Ichigo having a struggle with the hollow inside of him. He pulled out his zanpakuto for the first time since traveling with Ichigo. He held a double bladed sword on one hilt. He held it tightly in his hand preparing for the worse. Ichigo sat there struggling to keep his composure.

"_Come on Ichigo. You have to let me take over. I'm the only one who can stop that mod-soul." _H. Ichigo said with a smug tone. _"Don't worry. I'll take care of Rukia for you." _Ichigo continued to fight a losing battle with his hollow. Suddenly, H. Ichigo struck him and he fell backwards to the ground.

"_What's wrong Ichigo? Don't you know? In you, I am the king. You are the servant."_ Ichigo breathed hard as he watched H. Ichigo stand there laughing at him. Just then H. Ichigo charged at him with his flaming zanpakuto in hand. Ichigo laid there trying to raise himself up. He fell back down. It was no use. This was one battle that Ichigo could not win.

'I'm sorry… Rukia.' He closed his eyes as H. Ichigo flew closer and closer to him. A single tear fell from his eye. Suddenly H. Ichigo stopped in his tracks. Something compelled him to not attack him.

Ichigo opened his eyes and looked up. H. Ichigo stood a distance away from him, with his back to Ichigo. Ichigo stood up wiping the blood from his eyes.

"_Is she really that important to you?" _H. Ichigo asked. _"Important enough for me to let you take over your body, willingly." _H. Ichigo turned to face him. He had a serious look on his face.

"_I promise you, Ichigo. I will kill the mod-soul and then give you back control of your body." _Ichigo was surprised by this sudden change in H. Ichigo's character. Ichigo nodded and closed his eyes. His outer body began to change into H. Ichigo. Arukasa stood and waited as he completely turned into H. Ichigo. Arukasa watched as H. Ichigo turned to face the forest. "For Rukia." He said. Ichigo grinned as he repeated what H. Ichigo said. H. Ichigo grinned as well as he jumped into the forest to fight the mod-soul.


	6. Chapter 6 Save the Day

H. Ichigo stood on the outskirts of Yutaremai Forest.

"_Don't think I'm doing this because for you." _H. Ichigo said. _"If you die, so do I."_ H. Ichigo raised his zanpakuto in front of him. His Reiatsu grew higher and faster.

"_Dark Bankai!" _Zangetsu turned into a flaming blade. H. Ichigo raised it above his head and as he lowered a dark flame flew forward to the forest. The treetops burst in flames as H. Ichigo stood there with a grin on his face.

"IDIOT!" Both Arukasa and Ichigo said simultaneously. "You have to get the Harakasashi plants before they burn." Arukasa said. H. Ichigo was getting mentality kicked by Ichigo. Just then H. Ichigo disappeared and then reappeared a second later inside of the forest. He quickly grabbed a handful of plants and pulled the whole thing out and tucked it in his clothes. He grabbed another handful before his disappeared from the forest.

H. Ichigo reappeared outside of the forest with the plant in his hand. Arukasa was taken by the speed of H. Ichigo. H. Ichigo turned around and handed the plant to Arukasa.

"Here give this to Ichigo's woman." Arukasa took the plant in his hands and looked back at H. Ichigo. "Hurry! Go now!" H. Ichigo raised his zanpakuto and opened a portal to earth with his flaming Zangetsu. Arukasa quickly jumped in and it vanished after he jumped in.

"I'm going to kill this mod-soul once and for all." H. Ichigo said. He disappeared once again and into the burning forest. He reappeared in a small clearing in the forest. Suddenly the mod-soul appeared in front of him. The mod-soul took the body of the lower level shinigamis from the past.

Just then the mod-soul disappeared and so did H. Ichigo. Their fight began. H. Ichigo and the mod-soul fought in the clearing. Fire surrounded them as it burned the trees. The mod-soul held a zanpakuto that was double edged. Both sides of the blade were sharp and two times as deadly.

The two powerhouses separated and stared each other down. The mod-soul and Hollow Ichigo alike had grins on their faces. The fire grew more and more intense as time passed. Arukasa quickly ran to Urahara's shop holding onto the plant for dear life.

When he arrived, Arukasa quickly searched for Urahara. When Arukasa found Urahara, he quickly explained the story and gave him the plant. Urahara went to work turning the plant into a liquid so that Rukia could drink the medicine.

It had been four days since she was poisoned. The poison just entered her heart. Rukia did not look well at all. Her body had lost its natural color. When she would violently cough, sometimes blood came out. There was a small puddle of it next to her. No one was allowed to touch the blood because they would get infected with the poison and die as well.

The battle raged on as the mod-soul and H. Ichigo showed no signs of exhaustion. Ichigo watched from within his body at battle going on. The fire continued to roar. A large smoke trail could be seen from Soul Society. Everyone looked up and wondered what was going on.

H. Ichigo began to charge the mod-soul. The flaming Zangetsu roared louder than the fire surrounding them. Just as he was about to jump into the air, H. Ichigo tripped over himself. He began to roll on the ground. When he stopped rolling, H. Ichigo coughed up blood.

'What is going here damn it?" H. Ichigo yelled. He slowly rose to his feet.

'_Damn. It must be the poison.'_ Ichigo said. _'It must have worked its way into the blood already.'_ H. Ichigo fell to one knee and spat blood out all over the ground. Suddenly the mod-soul began to laugh.

"So the poison is finally working is it? Since I hit you with the poison, it works faster." The mod-soul said in a low deep voice. It started to laugh at H. Ichigo's pain. H. Ichigo quickly got to his feet and struck the mod-soul in his chest. The mod-soul fell to one kneed laughing as he kept telling Ichigo the poison will kill him.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" And with that the Mod-Soul and the shinigami it possessed died. They were evaporated from the blast of the attack. H. Ichigo stood there holding his dark Zangetsu before the mask started to disappear

"_You owe me one, Kurosaki Ichigo."_ The mask completely vanished. Ichigo stood there with Zangetsu in his normal form. Ichigo was in shikai form. He fell to one knee before rising up and walking away. He quickly used Zangetsu to open a portal back to the world of the living. He quickly jumped in and arrived just outside Urahara's store. He slowly made his way to Rukia's room. Urahara was sitting there next to her when he looked up and saw Ichigo coming in. Ichigo fell to the ground and Urahara quickly ran to his side.

"He's been infected by the poison." Urahara said, disdainfully. Urahara quickly got up and was about to run out the room before Ichigo let out a loud moan. He turned around and noticed Ichigo tried to roll over. Urahara bent down and slowly helped him roll over. He quickly grabbed a mattress and a blanket, and placed Ichigo inside.

"Arukasa come here." Urahara yelled. Within seconds, Arukasa ran in the room, surprised to see Ichigo laying there.

"Oh no Ichigo. What's happening?" Arukasa asked as he kneeled down next to Urahara.

"He's been infected with the poison." Urahara said. Suddenly Ichigo coughed up blood.

"We don't have any more of the plant. We used it all up on Rukia." Urahara said. He looked down in sadness as he realized Ichigo was not going to make it. Arukasa look disappointed as he looked down at the poisoned Ichigo.

Suddenly Ichigo started to move his arm. Urahara and Arukasa watched as his arm rose and landed on his chest. His index finger began tapping on his chest. Urahara reached into Ichigo's garments and pulled out more of the Harakasashi plant. He soon went to work on turning the plant into a liquid to give to Ichigo.

"_You owe me." _A whisper from the hero who saved the day.


	7. Chapter 7 Debt

The next morning, Ichigo woke up. He slowly sat up and opened his eyes. His vision adjusted to the room as he looked around. His vision cleared up as soon as he recognized Urahara's shop. He groggily got up to his feet and quickly leaned against a wall. His head spun slightly as he felt his way along the wall to the door. He quietly slid open the door and headed home.

The trip took forever. Ichigo slowly regained his strength as he walked home. At first he had to support himself by holding onto the wall, but when he finally arrived home, he did not need to hold onto something. When he walked up to the front door a voice called out to him from the roof. He took a step back and looked up. The sun shined in his eyes so he lifted his hand to shield himself from it. Rukia sat there smiling and waving at him as he finally made out her tiny form sitting on his roof.

Ichigo jumped in the air and landed right next to her. He knelt down and sat himself next to her. He placed his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She placed a hand on his chest as Ichigo laid his head on top of hers.

"I thought I was going to lose you." Ichigo said in a solemn tone. Rukia closed her eyes and placed her hand in his.

"I love you." Rukia said. Ichigo smiled as he rubbed his cheek on the top of her hair.

"I love you too." Ichigo whispered. Rukia sat there lightly squeezing his hand. Ichigo's eyes closed as he took a deep breath.

"_Oh, Ichigo." _His eyes quickly shot open. Ichigo raised his head from Rukia's head, which startled her. She looked up at Ichigo, worried.

"_You owe me one." _H. Ichigo laugh echoed as it faded away. Ichigo looked worried as he held a hand on his face. Rukia grabbed onto Ichigo's arm and pulled herself closer to him. Ichigo looked down at her and realized that he scared her. Ichigo hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. She looked up at him. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Is everything ok?" Rukia asked. Ichigo leaned forward and planted a warm kiss on her forehead.

Looking down into her dark eyes, he said, "Now it is." She smiled.


End file.
